Ricardo 1500th McLaren Engine Built

Ricardo is an engineering firm responsible for some of the most high-end parts for some of the most high-end cars in the world. We can mention Bugatti Veyron’s gearbox, and the engine for the MP4-12C.

They just achieved a major milestone regarding this engine. The plant has just passed making 1500th unit for the British sports cars. The state-of-the-art facility is the newest building on Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre site, and was designed around the manufacturing requirements of the McLaren M838T engine that powers the leading UK performance sports car manufacturer’s MP4-12C supercar.

They do have a rather special way of doing things which set them apart from other contractors and gives them the oppotunity to work with some of the best car makers in the world.

Check out some of the highlights in the press release below:

The facility provides a near clean-room production environment in which each and every process is carried out according to strict, best-in-class quality principles and within a comprehensive ‘no faults forward’ culture. In this way, Ricardo applies the very latest thinking in high quality mass manufacture within a low to medium volume setting. Lean manufacturing principles were incorporated from the outset of the facility’s design which was carried out in parallel with the development of the engine – itself designed in collaboration between Ricardo and McLaren Automotive – within an impressively short 18 month timescale from concept to pilot production. Less than a year following its launch, this advanced manufacturing facility has successfully completed and delivered 1500 engines to McLaren, and is now operating at its full production rate of 45 engines per week from a single shift.

“This important milestone is a reflection of the hard work, skills and dedication of the production team at the Ricardo High Performance Assembly Facility, together with their colleagues in supply chain management and logistics, and our partners and suppliers for this product,” commented Ricardo director of manufacturing operations Mark Barge. “Together we aim to satisfy and exceed the requirements for manufacturing quality and delivery of some of the world’s leading high performance automotive brands and their very discerning customer base. As we continue production we look forward to supporting McLaren Automotive with the next 1500 M838T engines for its fantastic MP4-12C supercar.”